Aesthetic Roots: Homemade

For this post I chose to incorporate aesthetic roots in both my project but also my upbringing as a child and something that I think played a role in defining my childhood and shaped me into the kind of things that appeal to me. When I think of an aesthetic that I used and was attracted to, not even understanding the concept of an aesthetic, I think of “homemade.” Growing up my parents kind of unintentionally highlighted the quality and favorable characteristics of homemade items. Whether it was homemade food, and home cooked meals everyday, gifts that were homemade from sewing and knitting, or fun, random DIY projects that my brothers and I would find randomly and tinker around with, from a young age homemade items have always been something that attracts my attention.

When i think of homemade it makes me think of this little pie shop back home in Virginia called Mamma’s Apple Pie Co. This quiet little shop highlights the desirable qualities and “warm” feeling that the homemade aesthetic brings out.

When it comes to my project I was not planning on having a “homemade” aesthetic. I wanted to design and machine components with high precision and create a very clean, complete, finalized product. However with the changes that have been forced to be made due to COVID-19, my project has turned into more of a DIY, homemade looking Stirling motor. I do have plans to incorporate other aesthetics with the help of Professor Hertzburg such as Art Nouveau or Art Deco by adding some decorations to the motor. I initially wanted to create a sort of steampunk or industrial aesthetic with the stirling motor with lots of moving components, linkages, and utilizing metallic colors. With the limitations of material acquisition and machining, I think this aesthetic will be more difficult to accomplish but my goal is to still shoot to incorporate these themes.

 

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2 Comments. Leave new

  • Hannah Walsh
    May 5, 2020 2:57 pm

    I never thought of “homemade” as an aesthetic, but as soon as I started reading your post, a ton of images came to mind. I think homemade can still be very sleep and clean, it just has more of a personal touch to it. I think you may have a lot of difficulty creating something clean and clear in these conditions, but you’ll certainly be able to bring out the homemade feel in it.

    Reply
  • Hailee Pritchard
    April 22, 2020 7:29 pm

    Hey Nate! I think this is a really cool aesthetic for your project and it fits your final representation perfectly. I also love the idea of it being more rustic and not looking as perfect as you imaged, it’s more interesting. Maybe you could combine this aesthetic with an “arts and crafts” sort of style, and truly make your project look like you made it out of crafting supplies. Super cool project 🙂

    Reply

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